PC Review


Reply
Thread Tools Rate Thread

The BIOS- How to...?

 
 
~ FreeSpirit ~
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
      15th Jan 2005
Hi, one of you gave me the URL for the manual for the MB on my HP PC on 1/7.
I downloaded what HP claims was the manual for the MB. However the manual
is nothing but some spec's for the MB with no information on how to enter
the BIOS or make changes there.

IOW what's called a manual is a just a spec sheet. The MB mgf site doesn't
not list the MB on this 18 month old PC. Where else can this information be
located?

FS~

 
Reply With Quote
 
 
 
 
Ted Zieglar
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
      15th Jan 2005
1. Contact the manufacturer of your computer.
2. Ask them "How do I enter the BIOS of my computer?"
3. Ask them "Do you have any information that I could read about the
settings in my computer's BIOS?"

Ted Zieglar.

"~ FreeSpirit ~" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:OsGQsWq%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi, one of you gave me the URL for the manual for the MB on my HP PC on
> 1/7.
> I downloaded what HP claims was the manual for the MB. However the manual
> is nothing but some spec's for the MB with no information on how to enter
> the BIOS or make changes there.
>
> IOW what's called a manual is a just a spec sheet. The MB mgf site
> doesn't
> not list the MB on this 18 month old PC. Where else can this information
> be
> located?
>
> FS~
>


 
Reply With Quote
 
~ FreeSpirit ~
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
      15th Jan 2005

"Ted Zieglar" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ObCvsnq%(E-Mail Removed)...
> 1. Contact the manufacturer of your computer.
> 2. Ask them "How do I enter the BIOS of my computer?"
> 3. Ask them "Do you have any information that I could read about the
> settings in my computer's BIOS?"

===============================
It's out of warranty but I called them anyway. To get into the BIOS (on a
HP Desktop) it's tap F1 as it boots - he walked me through resetting the
BIOS to the default setting. We'll see if that works. There is no manual
available for my MB.

I notice when techs here reply to people they assume the PCs mfg.'s give
manuals. Unfortunately they don't.

Thanks....

FS~

 
Reply With Quote
 
Bob Harris
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
      15th Jan 2005
Most PC makers do not want users to change BIOS settings, since a "bad"
choice can stop the computer from booting. PC makers often act like all
they owe the user is how to restore the PC to the day of delivery. Some may
support user-upgrades, but others do not.

So, you are on your own. Options of what to do next include:

1. Contact the PC maker, and hope thye are in a good mood.

2. Read the FAQs and other info on the PC maker web site. Some
problems/upgrades are often addressed in little bullitens.

3. Look for more generic info elsewhere. Try a web search on "BIOS guide"
for example.

4. Use the mnaual for a similar PC or motherboard.

5. Look on the CD(s) that came with the PC for a PDF version of a manual or
guide. And, look for the same on the hard drive. It might be there.

6. Use a free tool to tell you about the hardware. it will not give you
BIOS settings, but you might learn something useful. AIDA32 was my favorite
tool. Everest is a supported tool that is replacing AIDA. Sandra (the free
version) is also pretty good.

NOTE: Whatever you do, be sure to write down all the old BIOS settings
before you change them, or you may never be able to restore the PC to
working order. If you have a digital camera, take pictures of the BIOS
screens.

"~ FreeSpirit ~" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:OsGQsWq%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi, one of you gave me the URL for the manual for the MB on my HP PC on
> 1/7.
> I downloaded what HP claims was the manual for the MB. However the manual
> is nothing but some spec's for the MB with no information on how to enter
> the BIOS or make changes there.
>
> IOW what's called a manual is a just a spec sheet. The MB mgf site
> doesn't
> not list the MB on this 18 month old PC. Where else can this information
> be
> located?
>
> FS~
>



 
Reply With Quote
 
~ FreeSpirit ~
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
      16th Jan 2005

"Bob Harris" <rharris270[SPAM]@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:uOzTsu0%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Most PC makers do not want users to change BIOS settings, since a "bad"
> choice can stop the computer from booting. PC makers often act like all
> they owe the user is how to restore the PC to the day of delivery. Some

may
> support user-upgrades, but others do not.


## HP has us burn our own DVD disks to do a reinstall of the OS. It's
pathetic. Should we need that DVD and it has some error we are screwed.
We had our 1st PC custom made and got the W95 CD with the PC. I wish we
knew someone we trusted to make the next PCs but alas,... the man had moved
and we were stuck buying them at CompUSA.

> So, you are on your own. Options of what to do next include:


> 1. Contact the PC maker, and hope thye are in a good mood.


## Yes, the HP tech walked me through resetting the BIOS to default, not
that anyone changed anything there. He said something added or removed from
the PC since I purchased it may have changed some setting..... ??!?!?!?! I
couldn't resolve the problem of the monitor waking up constantly i.e. the
Monitor Power thing would not work correctly and Standby stopped working
after a few months. We've been too busy to see if this change fixed these
two problems.

> 2. Read the FAQs and other info on the PC maker web site. Some
> problems/upgrades are often addressed in little bullitens.


## I can look, but am a hopeless cause when it comes to finding things on
websites. :-( I never seem to type in the right words to find what I
want.

> 3. Look for more generic info elsewhere. Try a web search on "BIOS

guide"
> for example.


## Yes, some tech here already gave me the URLs for some really good sites
covering BIOS info.

> 4. Use the mnaual for a similar PC or motherboard.


## There is no manual for this PC's MB and saw none that looked close. We
looked both on the HP and the American Megatrends websites.

> 5. Look on the CD(s) that came with the PC for a PDF version of a manual

or
> guide. And, look for the same on the hard drive. It might be there.


## A SEARCH finds nothing under American Megatrends. I don't know
how/where else to look. Typing in BIOS brings up what looks like a bunch of
meaningless HTML code. Nothing that resembles a manual. I don't know how
to search the DVD we burned (to do a restore of the OS) when we got the PC.

> 6. Use a free tool to tell you about the hardware. it will not give you
> BIOS settings, but you might learn something useful. AIDA32 was my

favorite
> tool. Everest is a supported tool that is replacing AIDA. Sandra (the

free
> version) is also pretty good.


## I'm not sure what you mean "tell you about the hardware." I use Belarc
Advisor which shows everything on the PC, everything!. Is that what you're
talking about?

> NOTE: Whatever you do, be sure to write down all the old BIOS settings
> before you change them, or you may never be able to restore the PC to
> working order. If you have a digital camera, take pictures of the BIOS
> screens.


## Thanks for this information. All the HP tech had me do was reset the
default and get out of there. People on these MS NGs suggest people make
changes to the BIOS when most of us (general PC users) are not qualified to
make such changes safely.

FS~
Completely FREE software:
http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/index.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 
Reply With Quote
 
David Candy
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
      16th Jan 2005
You don't need to trust anyone. Their only skill is tightening screws. Specify the parts and get anyone to screw them together.

--
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.uscricket.com
"~ FreeSpirit ~" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:OOqmfh5%(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Bob Harris" <rharris270[SPAM]@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:uOzTsu0%(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Most PC makers do not want users to change BIOS settings, since a "bad"
>> choice can stop the computer from booting. PC makers often act like all
>> they owe the user is how to restore the PC to the day of delivery. Some

> may
>> support user-upgrades, but others do not.

>
> ## HP has us burn our own DVD disks to do a reinstall of the OS. It's
> pathetic. Should we need that DVD and it has some error we are screwed.
> We had our 1st PC custom made and got the W95 CD with the PC. I wish we
> knew someone we trusted to make the next PCs but alas,... the man had moved
> and we were stuck buying them at CompUSA.
>
>> So, you are on your own. Options of what to do next include:

>
>> 1. Contact the PC maker, and hope thye are in a good mood.

>
> ## Yes, the HP tech walked me through resetting the BIOS to default, not
> that anyone changed anything there. He said something added or removed from
> the PC since I purchased it may have changed some setting..... ??!?!?!?! I
> couldn't resolve the problem of the monitor waking up constantly i.e. the
> Monitor Power thing would not work correctly and Standby stopped working
> after a few months. We've been too busy to see if this change fixed these
> two problems.
>
>> 2. Read the FAQs and other info on the PC maker web site. Some
>> problems/upgrades are often addressed in little bullitens.

>
> ## I can look, but am a hopeless cause when it comes to finding things on
> websites. :-( I never seem to type in the right words to find what I
> want.
>
>> 3. Look for more generic info elsewhere. Try a web search on "BIOS

> guide"
>> for example.

>
> ## Yes, some tech here already gave me the URLs for some really good sites
> covering BIOS info.
>
>> 4. Use the mnaual for a similar PC or motherboard.

>
> ## There is no manual for this PC's MB and saw none that looked close. We
> looked both on the HP and the American Megatrends websites.
>
>> 5. Look on the CD(s) that came with the PC for a PDF version of a manual

> or
>> guide. And, look for the same on the hard drive. It might be there.

>
> ## A SEARCH finds nothing under American Megatrends. I don't know
> how/where else to look. Typing in BIOS brings up what looks like a bunch of
> meaningless HTML code. Nothing that resembles a manual. I don't know how
> to search the DVD we burned (to do a restore of the OS) when we got the PC.
>
>> 6. Use a free tool to tell you about the hardware. it will not give you
>> BIOS settings, but you might learn something useful. AIDA32 was my

> favorite
>> tool. Everest is a supported tool that is replacing AIDA. Sandra (the

> free
>> version) is also pretty good.

>
> ## I'm not sure what you mean "tell you about the hardware." I use Belarc
> Advisor which shows everything on the PC, everything!. Is that what you're
> talking about?
>
>> NOTE: Whatever you do, be sure to write down all the old BIOS settings
>> before you change them, or you may never be able to restore the PC to
>> working order. If you have a digital camera, take pictures of the BIOS
>> screens.

>
> ## Thanks for this information. All the HP tech had me do was reset the
> default and get out of there. People on these MS NGs suggest people make
> changes to the BIOS when most of us (general PC users) are not qualified to
> make such changes safely.
>
> FS~
> Completely FREE software:
> http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/index.htm
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>

 
Reply With Quote
 
~ FreeSpirit ~
Guest
Posts: n/a
 
      17th Jan 2005

"David Candy" <.> wrote in message
news:%23mOxTS7%(E-Mail Removed)...
You don't need to trust anyone. Their only skill is tightening screws.
Specify the parts and get anyone to screw them together.
=================
David, not every component will work with every other component. I think
you know that. You have to know what works with what. Filling a cart at
CompUSA with a motherboard, a HD, RAM, CD-ROM drive etc... putting it all
together and having it work just doesn't happen. I once picked up the
"wrong" RAM for my husband's old PC and had to make a 75 mi round trip for
the right one....

FS~

 
Reply With Quote
 
 
 
Reply

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How to completely backup the old bios for future investigation ? (ALSO BIOS SECURITY TIP/IDEA !!) Skybuck The Destroyer DIY PC 3 17th Jun 2007 09:30 PM
Upgrading BIOS on Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG 01/27/2003 Build =?Utf-8?B?Sko=?= Windows XP Help 2 10th Sep 2005 06:19 PM
P5D2-E PREMIUM BIOS not scanning SATA drives and stalling at BIOS Tony Asus Motherboards 3 25th Feb 2005 11:50 AM
How are BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing named in Award BIOS? Dmitriy Kopnichev Windows XP General 8 12th Nov 2003 09:53 AM
How are BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing named in Award BIOS? Dmitriy Kopnichev Windows XP Hardware 6 10th Nov 2003 10:09 PM


Features
 

Advertising
 

Newsgroups
 


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:08 AM.